Saturday November 9th~

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make

 you something else is the greatest accomplishment...

Yesterday was a work from home kind of day.  No 

working at the house so that was also good.This morning 

I had a little walk.  The sunrise did not disappoint.

Since Thursday was a very busy day for us, we did 

not have time to have our Thursday outing, so instead we

 had it yesterday.  We decided to go to Fort Myers Beach.

It's the first time going back since Hurricane Milton 

and then Hurricane Helene.  Everything on the beach

 looked okay.  There was still a lot of displaced sand,

 but crews are working on getting things in order.

We drove around a bit to check things out.  Traffic

 was crazy.  The snowbirds are back in full swing. 

 The beach was crowded and everyone seemed

 to be having a good time in the Sunshine State.

Arvid and I went to a favorite of ours.  Matanzas

 on the Bay.  There was live music.  Blue skies and happy 

people all around us.  Food as always was very good and so

 were the drinks.  We relaxed and enjoyed a very pleasant 

outing.  Palm trees, blue skies and water views.  Perfect.

A few errands today, but mostly lots of soccer in store for Arvid.  

To all a good day and may you always live in interesting times.

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, 

we must carry it with us, or we find it not...

~Nadiya~

Friday November 8th ~

Take the attitude of a student, never 

be too big to ask questions, never know

 too much to learn something new...

Busy morning yesterday  Both Arvid and I had 

doctors appointments.  Arvid his yearly which he

 always says is a waste of time because he's 

so healthy.  Truth is, he is very healthy.

  The doctors are always impressed with him. The 

Doctor told him he's in better shape than an 18 year 

old. I had a follow up on a mammogram.  All good 

there as well.  My next follow up is in six months.

Tropical Storm Rafael will not come our way, but it  sure

 brought us some wet gloomy looking weather.  Much

 better than hitting us with the force of a Hurricane.  

The day is looking much better today.  I went

 out for an early morning walk, and of course I 

captured the changing colors of the morning.  

The days are getting darker way too early.  By five

 o'clock it feels as it it's already 11 pm.  Not liking this 

so much, but with each day it will get brighter. What has 

not changed are those beautiful Fort Myers sunsets.

I am happy I was able to do a little morning walk

 today.   Though it was just a short one, I feel good. 

 Little by little I will get back to even better days.

Friday and it's looking like the start of a beautiful day. 

 Yesterday we worked at the house making it all ready

 for mom and dad.  Today we have a few other things to 

take care of.  Arvid said to me, "I am going to 

be busy."  I thought to myself, "what's new😂?" 

To all a good day and smile because the weekend is soon here.

Life is like a sewer … what you get out 

of it depends on what you put into it...

~Nadiya~

Life Happens-Missing You 💓~

When we miss someone, often, what we really 

miss is the part of us that with this someone awakens...

Today is just one of those day.  I can't pinpoint 

what exactly happened.  I just suddenly got sad and 

am missing my Brutus like crazy.  Also thinking of

 Shadow and that always makes me want to scream 

and hit something really bad.  One of those days. 

Add to that my Puerto Rico kitties, and I'm not having 

a really good day right now.  I know it will get better.

Then Sniff runs up to me.  He knows something 

is not right.  Sits by my side and little by little 

I begin to calm down, and the that terrible 

urge to just cry and cry subsides. 

 Life goes on and after all I do have so much to

 be grateful for.  Sniff and Arvid are proof of that.

  And we are all right here with each other.

A dream you dream alone is only a dream. 

A dream you dream together is reality...

~Nadiya~

Wednesday November 6th~

Every morning brings new potential, but

 it's what we do with it that makes a difference...

 It's been a little over two months since I last went 

out for my early morning walks.  I have missed it very

 much, but because of my knee it's been very difficult. 

 That being said, yesterday morning I gave it a try.  

I just did half the walk I would normally do.  It's a start

 and it felt good to be back out early.  I may not be able 

to do it every day, but little by little I will get there.

Sniff is already thinking about Christmas.  He's having a 

happy Christmas dream while I watch him and love him.

Well America has spoken.  The results are in.  Good 

luck to us all.  What started out as a beautiful day turned

 into this.  Thank you Tropical Storm #Rafael  We sure 

don't need more of this s#it again.  Enough is enough.

It's a new day.  It's a new dawn and I'm feeling good.

  There is no need to lose friendships/relationships over 

a difference of opinions.  Life is never predictable.

If you don't like something, change it. If 

you can't change it, change your attitude...

~Nadiya~

November 5th 2015 ~ The Day Our Brutus Died

It is in the darkest hour, when we are 

faced with our deepest most wrenching fears, 

that we are given the greatest strength...

 Nine years today since our Brutus died.  That day 

changed our lives forever.  As I have said before, it didn't

 kill me, but something inside of me died that day.

When Brutus died Arvid said to me, "no one ever told 

me it was going to be this hard"  Today we have Sniff in

 our lives.  I adore my Sniff and love him with all my heart,

 but my Brutus took a part of me I will never get back.  

Some days I just sit and remember.  Just for a little, 

and then my heart breaks all over again🐾💔

It's not as if I cry or grieve for Brutus every single💔

 moment, it's just that when those moments happen my heart 

is broken all over again, and though the tears have stopped, 

there are also times when I'm just drowning in them.  This

 day, this image is forever engraved in me.  Sometimes 

I really wish I didn't have such a good memory.

Brutus, my heart never stops calling your name.  

Mama loves you forever and ever.  Sniff is now our 

baby, but you will always be my baby as well ❤

No one ever told us that losing a pet is going to be so difficult.  

You were not just a pet, you were mama and dada's baby. 

When you died Brutus each day was I fought a silent battle 

within me just to survive another day without you. 

 Today we are better, but every so often a memory 

comes to us and for that brief moment/moments the grief

 is raw again.  Thank you Brutus for you taught your dada 

patience and showed him how to love unconditionally. 

Me I loved you from the moment we set eyes on you.

Brutus, you left us too soon.  I wasn't done

 loving you yet.  I never will be done 💔💔

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be

 seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart...

~Nadiya~

Election Day in the USA~

Somewhere inside of all of us is the power to change the world...

 American voters go to the polls on Tuesday to choose

our next president.  US election results are sometimes 

declared within hours of the polls closing, but this 

year's tight contest could mean a longer wait.

In some presidential races the victor has 

been named late on election night, or early

the next morning. This time, the knife-edge race

 in many states could mean media outlets wait

 longer before projecting who has won.

Democratic Vice-President Kamala Harris and 

Republican Donald Trump, the former president, 

have been running neck-and-neck for weeks.

Narrow victories could also mean recounts.

In the 2020 election, US TV networks did not declare

 Joe Biden the winner until four days after election day, 

when the result in Pennsylvania became clearer.

Let's see what the day brings.  Remember 

if you did not vote as yet, you still have the chance 

to make your voice heard.  Good luck to us all.

Nobody will ever deprive the American people

 of the right to vote except the American people themselves,

 and the only way they could do this is by not voting...

~Nadiya~

Monday November 4th~

 Strength doesn’t come from what 

you can do. It comes from overcoming the

 things you once thought you couldn’t...

November is promising to be a good month.  Mom

 and dad will be visiting.  Very excited and happy to 

see them and have them close by.  Life has been 

good to me and for that I am always grateful.

The Amazon delivery guy is being kept very busy.  Box

 after box is arriving to us going to the house.  We're busy and

 always a good thing it makes for more interesting times.

I'm missing my Brutus too much today.  Nine years ago 

today, it was the last time I held him.  He was dead the next 

day.  Time doesn't fix everything and neither do words.

Yesterday Arvid and I had a very delicious outing. 

As always the food does not disappoint.  Afterwards we 

decided to indulge ourselves with a little sweet treat.

  Perfect outing.  Great weather and ready now we're

 ready for whatever the new week has in store for us.

To all a good week.  Let's see what it holds for us.

Perspective is everything when you 

are experiencing the challenges of life...

~Nadiya~

Sunday November 3rd~

A good laugh makes any interview, 

or any conversation, so much better...

 More Florida humor to start the day.  I'm sure

 everywhere has their own brand of humor, but we live

 in Florida, so I only focus on the Florida humor.

Sniff and I were awake early again, but in a way it wasn't

 because the clocks moved an hour back this morning so

 was about our usual time.  Sniff had some brushing and

 his foodies.  I had my cafe while Arvid was still asleep.

Once again yesterday we went to listen to music.  Buckingham 

Blues Bar is becoming a new favorite hangout of ours, and best

 of all it is very close to the house mom and dad will be in.

Yesterday there was a backyard blues fest.  It was 

outdoors and of course it has not rained in ages, but for some 

reason the rain was always hovering in the background.

 The clouds were dark and a few times we had to 

grab our lawn chairs and seek shelter.  Most didn't they

 were much braver than Arvid and I.  I wanted to sit it

 out, but Arvid is not a fan of the rain.  The highlight 

of the evening was Albert Castiglia.  He's GOOD!

The mini festival ended pretty early in the evening. 

 Arvid and I came home and decided we might just go

 downtown for a bit, but then suddenly it started to rain, 

and that was that.  We watched a movie and the three 

of us a a good evening at home watching a movie.

There is nothing like a gleam of humor 

to reassure you that a fellow human being 

is ticking inside a strange face...

~Nadiya~

Saturday November 2nd~

Men do not quit playing because they grow old; 

they grow old because they quit playing...

 When Arvid is restless he washes the cars.

  Yesterday he washed one and few days ago he

 washed the other one.  Says it relaxes him.

When Arvid is not relaxing washing cars, he's always in 

a rush to take off someplace.  Most of the times I'm with him 😂

Arvid and Sniff have a daily routine.  After breakfast it's balcony 

time.  After that Arvid does the breakfast dishes, then he takes 

the garbage out.  This is Sniff running to go out with Arvid.

Arvid spends some time out in the hallway with 

Sniff until he's ready to comeback in.  Sniff that is.  

As Arvid would say, "a good start of our day."

We had a fairly quiet day at home yesterday. 

Was really good. We did a few personal things, 

watched TV and mostly relaxed.  Some days 

it’s good to just do absolutely nothing.

To all a very good day.  Saturday, and of course the day is 

filled with soccer games. Arvid is going to be very busy  again😂 

 Life is definitely not easy; may we never forget to be thankful

 for our blessings, and may we say a prayer for those who are 

less fortunate.  The flooding in Spain is heartbreaking💔  

Only the pursuit of happiness is 

guaranteed. The rest is up to you...

~Nadiya~

November 1st~ New Month

What separates privilege from entitlement is gratitude...

November reminds me of the month our Brutus died nine 

years ago.  It's also a month we celebrate giving thanks for

 all our blessings.  This is something I do all the time not just

 on a particular day or month.  I am sure the same goes for 

everyone, November is the designated Thanksgiving.

As the new month begins, we have a lot to look forward to. 

 Arvid, and I are always looking for the good in life.  Our 

lives may not be  perfect, but we always try to maintain 

a positive attitude towards whatever life throws at us.

Last night we went out for a little just to check out 

the Halloween scene. We were out a bit too early for 

the Halloween crowd, but we did get to see some 

interesting costumes.  Everyone was having fun.

We just stayed out for a little while.  Enjoyed

 the crowd by Hideaway Bar and went back home 

to Sniff.  Was just nice to go out for a bit.

To all a very good day.  The weekend is nearby.

The miracle of gratitude is that it shifts your perception 

to such an extent that it changes the world you see...

~Nadiya~